John Blankenbaker's Germanna History Notes

Note 1568

Place:  “Germany”
Time:   18th Century
By:       Dan C. Heinemeier
(Rural Life in Hesse-Kassel)

(I return to "A Social History of Hesse", by Dan C. Heinemeier.)
(This discussion of Hesse is continued from Note Nr. 1560, dated 04 January 2003 .  GWD WebMaster)

Rural life in Hesse-Kassel in the Eighteenth Century was fraught with challenges.  Natural disasters, social change, and economic dislocations came in waves through the century.

In contrast to the widespread practice of the Seventeenth Century of landlords letting out their lands for specific contract periods, during the Eighteenth Century, land use practices evolved to the point where almost all peasant holdings became inheritable.  Barring misuse of the land, inability to work it, or some other extraordinary circumstance, the peasant family could rely on holding a given parcel of farmland for generations.  As long as the designated dues and obligations were paid to those controlling the land, the family could continue to hold the land.  In some cases, the peasant holder could mortgage or sublease parts of the land with the landlord's permission.  This type of landholding provided the incentive to make the land as productive as possible.

Two types of practices were used in passing the land on the next generation.

With one type, a single offspring would receive almost all of the land and house.  The other children received a small sum of money, which was intended to help them get a start in something elsewhere.  The parents were permitted to choose the child that would receive the land; it did not need to be the oldest child.  (In north Germany, in one area, the farm would go to the youngest daughter whose husband had to adopt the family or farm name.)  Often the favored child would be designated before the death of the parents, and title often passed to this child when she or he married.  The wife of an inheriting son became a 50% owner of the property.  If she brought a dowry, it became shared property with her husband.

The inheritor of the land had to pay amounts to the brothers and sisters which became known as the "brothers and sisters tax".  Payment was due them when they married, or when the parents died.  Younger brothers and sisters might stay on the farm until they reached the age of maturity.

(A digression.)  When Kilian Planckenbuehler's first wife died in Austria (in the early 1600s), he had to pay monies to her children (his also) which represented the children's inheritance from their mother.  In other words, the mother was considered to have been a part owner of the place.  Kilian's eldest son became the owner of an adjacent farm, but it is not clear whether this was a totally new farm or a part of the original farm.  When Kilian and his second wife died at about the same time, the eldest son of the second marriage inherited the original farm.  He had to make payments to his brothers and sisters.  It is the recording of these payments with the local Lord that furnish the proof today of family relationships.  In the payment to Matthias, it was noted that he was living in Langenbrucken in Germany.  It is this piece of information that gives us the proof that the "Blankenbakers" did originate in Austria.)